Barclays targets diaspora with mobile money transfer service

• The service, which was launched in the British market early this year, allows phone users to send money straight to recipients’ phones, according to a report published on Sunday in the Financial Times newspaper.
• Barclays will charge a commission on the currency exchange but no fee. It expects a Sh13,000 (£100) transfer to Africa to cost less than Sh390 (£3),reported the Financial Times.
• Barclays joins other financial service providers who are seeking to tap income from diaspora remittances on realisation of their need for convenient and reputable channels of sending money home following nasty experiences with relatives and friends.

Central Bank of Kenya data shows that the country received remittances of Sh50.67 billion ($596.23 million) in the six months to June this year, rising from Sh34.14 billion ($406.5 million) in a similar period last year.